The People Power Party (PPP), which supports former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, unveiled a coalition government yesterday, capping a dramatic political turnaround 16 months after Thaksin's ouster.
The announcement of the six-party coalition ended four weeks of suspense following last month's general elections, which had left the PPP just shy of a majority in parliament.
"It took a long time to get here," party leader Samak Sundaravej told a press conference. "I am really relieved that now there's nothing more to worry about."
Under the coalition the PPP-led government would control about two-thirds of the 480 seats in parliament, he said.
"This will ensure that the government can last a long time," he said.
Samak, 72, refused to say if he would become the next prime minister, although he now appears to be a top contender.
Parliament will open tomorrow and could choose a new prime minister within a week, he said.
Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej then must give his official approval, a formality that normally takes a few days.
Although the party won the election -- the first since a bloodless coup in September 2006 -- their victory had been threatened by legal challenges filed at the Supreme Court and dozens of vote fraud investigations by the Election Commission.
After a flurry of legal activity on Friday, the PPP found itself in the clear as the top court dismissed the most serious charges against it and election officials announced they had settled most of their investigations.
The creation of a new government led by Thaksin's allies delivers an enormous blow to the royalist generals in the military, who had relentlessly sought to erase the flamboyant billionaire's political and corporate dynasty.
After the coup, Thaksin and 110 of his top lieutenants were banned from politics and his once-dominant Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party was disbanded.
Thaksin has remained in self-imposed exile since the coup.
His allies regrouped under the banner of the PPP and won last month's polls even with most of their strongholds still under martial law since the putsch.
A PPP government is widely expected to welcome Thaksin back to Thailand, though many questions remain about how that would happen.
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
RSS